And You Thought Larvae Were Bad...
by Weird
Summary: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.
1. Chapter 1

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

"I still wish you would tell me why you're leaving?" Dylan watched Trance pack from the doorway of her quarters. 

"I told you Dylan. You wouldn't understand." Trance shoved a few more things in her pack before tying the ends together. "There." 

"Well it might help me to understand if you actually told me something." 

"It's...personal." 

"Isn't it always?" Trance smiled at that. She slung the pack over her shoulder and met him at the doorway. 

"It's only for a few days. You won't even know I'm gone. I promise." Dylan looked at her, and then sighed. 

"A few days?" She nodded. "It's not like I'd be able to stop you anyways." He smiled. "Be safe. Keep out of trouble." 

"Trouble? I thought you knew me better than that." She winked as she scooted past him towards the Maru. 

"That's the problem," Dylan said to himself as he watched her go. "I hardly know you at all." 

----------- 

"That should do." Trance looked at the consol, pleased with her position. It was a remote enough area of space that any passing vessels shouldn't interrupt her for many weeks, let alone the few days she needed. 

Trance grabbed onto a railing as a spell of dizziness overcame her. She clutched tightly to it, waiting for the colorful dots to disappear. She took several deep breaths, and when she felt good enough to stand, she let go. 

Dylan should have let me go sooner. I barely made it, she thought to herself. She then proceeded to place a virus in the Maru's systems, insuring that no one would be able to use the controls of the ship and take it from the spot she had found for it. That no one being her. 

"There. Even Harper couldn't fix that," she mumbled out loud. 

"I couldn't fix what?" Trance jumped and spun around. 

"How did you..." 

"Get here?" Harper walked over to the consol, grinning. "I snuck on board before you left." 

"But how? I should have caught you." Trance shook her head. Apparently she was having more trouble focusing than she thought. But it hadn't been that bad before... 

"Should have but didn't. This lil' engineer is a lot sneakier than he looks." Harper pressed a few buttons. "What the hell did you do? Beka's going to kill you, assuming that is, that she ever finds us. 'Cause with whatever you put in here, we ain't goin' after the Andromeda anytime soon." 

"Why did you follow me?" Trance asked forcefully. Her voice had an edge of panic in it. Harper looked concerned. 

"Well, you are always sneaking around, being evasive with your answers to any questions. And I'm tired of playing these guessing games with you, Trance. So I figured I'd follow you this time, see what I could for myself." 

"You idiot!" Harper's eyes widened as Trance grabbed his arm. "Do you have any idea why I keep you and the rest of the crew out of these things? Do you have any idea whatsoever how much danger you've put yourself in. You need to leave. Now. It's not..." The dizziness hit her harder this time. She would have hit the floor had Harper not caught her. 

"Whoa, my golden goddess. I'm not going anywhere. You messed up the systems really bad. And you're not lookin' so good yourself." Trance pushed herself up, warding off any help the young engineer tried to provide. 

"I'm..." she stumbled. "Harper, I'm going to lock myself in a supply closet." She stopped him before he could protest. "No...no. You have to listen, and do exactly as I say. Promise?" He nodded. 

"Alright Trance. What do you need me to do?" 

----------- 

Harper fiddled with a few wires, trying his best to destroy the virus. 

"Trance, babe, what did you do to this ship?" 

He sighed, looking towards the back of the Maru where Trance was not only locked into the closet, but she had also, as requested, had the door welded from the outside by Harper himself. He had protested at first, but a promise was a promise. 

"C'mon baby. Don't you wanna be good for Daddy Harper?" The young engineer was working stiffly. His skin was tingling and he had this weird feeling he was being watched. 

A loud clang came from the right of him. 

"Uh...hello?" Harper stood up and walked slowly towards the sound, pulling out his lance just to be safe. He walked around the corner to find... 

"Nothing," he sighed and put away the lance, picking up the tool that had fallen off the table. As he did so, Harper got that feeling again, of unseen eyes tracking him. 

He whipped around just in time to see something flying at him. Then his head hit the deck, and he fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Harper woke up, yelping in pain as light flooded his eyes, snapping them closed in an instant. After a moment he was able to reopen them slowly. Sitting up, he reached a hand to the back of his head, hissing as he felt the bump. He looked around. He was in Rev's old bunk. 

Harper began to remember what had happened. He reached for his forcelance, but it was missing. Sliding silently out of the bunk, Harper looked around, finally grabbing a nearby bottle for his choice of weapon. He hid just outside the doorway waiting for the causer of the head bump to come for him again. 

It wasn't long before he heard a sound coming towards him. Harper raised his arm to bring the bottle down on the sentient's head. 

But the next moment that same arm was twisted behind his back by a very strong hand. 

"OW!" Harper protested loudly. 

"Harper! I'm sorry." He turned around to see that his assailant was Trance herself. 

"Trance?" He rubbed his wrist. "Weren't you locked in the storage closet?" 

"I got out," she stated bluntly. 

"Oh." He looked behind her. "Is it still here or did you take care of it?" 

"Of what?" 

"Of the thing that knocked me out. Something was on this ship and it jumped me. I hope you didn't get rid of it. Mr. Harper is pissed right now and wouldn't mind taking it out on someone or thing." He looked around for his bottle. 

"Harper, that was I." 

"What?!" Harper backed up a little. 

"When I got out. I was the one that attacked you. Now enough questions. You need rest." Trance started pulling him towards the bunk. 

"Whoa whoa. No, I don't think that has been enough questions, Trance." He emphasized her name. "Why did you knock me out? How did you get out of a locked, welded shut supply closet? And why I'm at it, why the hell did you come out here in the first place?" 

"I'll answer later. But don't stay so worked up. It's not good for your health." 

"If you're so worried about my health, then answer my questions and I won't have to stay so worked up." 

"Fine. But on the bunk." Harper walked over and lied down. Trance sat on the edge of the bed. "What would you like me to answer first?" 

"Ok...how did you get past my great welding job?" 

"I just did. Next." 

"Ya know," Harper looked at her, "if that's how all the answers are going to be, I'm going to get even more upset." 

"They won't all be like that. You just asked a bad question," Trance said. Harper sighed. 

"Fine. Then why did you knock me out?" Trance looked around the room sheepishly, and, yes, thought Harper with surprise, she's actually blushing. 

"Um, well. My species is different from yours obviously." Harper nodded. "Well you see, we also tend to mate differently." She looked at Harper. It took him a moment, but by the look in her eyes, he got it. 

"You...you mated with me?" His jaw dropped. 

"Yes." Harper swallowed, not quite knowing what to say. 

"What's with the whole knocking out thing?" 

"The females are the aggressors in our species. Most males do not stay conscious during the mating ritual." Trance stopped him before he could ask another question. "The mating only commences once every...well, it's very rare. When it happens, I usually cannot control it. The last few times I have isolated myself, but this time was unfortunate." 

"Unfortunate?" Harper raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I may be physically short, but Little Seamus is..." 

"No." She stopped him before he could continue. "What I meant was, it's unfortunate because the ritual is always effective. And besides, it doesn't require sex at all. Just transference of energy." 

Harper snapped his fingers. "I just when I thought I got some." He then turned white. 

"What did you mean by effective?" 

"I mean that we are going to have a child Harper." Harper looked sick. Trance went to grab something for him, but he stopped her. 

"No…I'm good, I'm good." He sat up to say his next point. "I won't run out on you Trance, you know that. I guess this is my responsibility as well." Trance smiled at that. 

"And besides, I have to be sure you're eating right," he smiled, placing his hand over her stomach. "That is where the baby's at, right?" 

"Well," Trance looked sheepish again, "that's where it will be in about 4 months." Harper frowned. 

"What do you mean in four months? Where's it at until then?" 

"Like I said, mating is very different in our species. In my species, it's a mutual gift shared between both participants. So that means..." Trance placed her hand on Harper's stomach. 

He immediately fainted.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well.

---------------- 

Harper moaned as he came to. Looking up, he saw Trance's concerned face above him. 

"You had me worried. You shouldn't be doing stuff like that to yourself, especially now that you're caring for two," she scolded. 

Harper groaned. 

"I thought it was a dream." 

"No." She helped him sit up. "It was real." 

"So I'm..I'm pregnant? Again?" He looked down at his stomach. 

"Not in the sense you're thinking." Harper gave her a quizzical look. "I am a different species, but you're still human. And human males cannot physically support a child. You're body wasn't made for that." 

"But you said..." 

"No I didn't. You assumed." Trance let out an exasperated sigh. "Let me see if I can explain it. The only thing you're carrying right now is the essence of the baby; essentially what your kind calls a soul. The baby will draw energy and memories from you while in your body, so you are going to feel very fatigued for the next few months, and you'll probably get nauseated easily." 

"Morning sickness." Harper made a face. 

"Yes. Normally in my species, it takes a number of years for this process, but since you're human, this will run along the normal nine months period. You'll keep the baby for the first 4 months and two weeks. Then there will be another transference." 

"Can I stay awake for this one?" Trance smiled at that. 

"You will. The essence will transfer to me, where in twice the time for a normal human, the baby's physical body will develop. In another four and a half months, the child will be delivered. Frankly, you got the easy part." 

"Yeah...I just get to carry an 'essence' around." Harper rolled his eyes. "So I'm just going to be tired a lot?" 

"Well...you'll also be able to feel the child," Trance said. 

"I will?" 

"It's not hard. In fact, I'd be surprised if you couldn't feel it. It's not everyday you find yourself sharing your body with another conscious." 

"One that's not going to eat me alive, that is." Harper raised an eyebrow. Trance hit him on the shoulder. 

"You won't be eaten. How could you think that about our child?" Trance looked hurt. Harper immediately went into apologizing mode. 

"I'm sorry! I mean, you're a gold, formally purple, something, and I'm pregnant...I mean, at this point I don't know what to expect." He laid back down. "It's all a bit overwhelming." 

Trance placed a reassuring hand over his. Harper smiled and squeezed it. 

"But still...a child. I mean, it's work, but it's worth it. I mean..." Trance nodded, the smile returning. "Did I mention how nice you look when you smile?" 

"Save the flattery for later. You need to rest. We'll be docking with the Andromeda in a few hours." 

Harper looked surprised. "How'd you get past that virus?" 

"I put it in there so I couldn't move the ship. But I did want to be able to leave after the ritual was over. It erased itself." Harper looked impressed, and then his face went white. 

"Oh crap. What are we going to tell the others?" 

"The truth," was her simple reply. "What else would we tell them?" 

"You're right. Sorry about that. Like I said, overwhelming." Trance nodded in understanding, and then went to check on their position. Harper looked around, already bored, but knowing that Trance was right. He was going to have to start taking care of himself. He wasn't the only person in this body anymore. 

"Well little guy," Harper put his hand over his stomach, "it's just you and me for now...for about four months actually. Let's cut a deal right now. You treat me right, and I'll treat you right, ok?" 

He couldn't be sure, but Harper could have swore he felt something. 

"Well then...I guess it's a deal." 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Beka stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently as Trance and Harper came down the Maru's ramp. Trance frowned. 

"Beka, I told you I was taking the Maru." 

"I know that Trance. That's not why I'm angry." She looked at Harper, who immediately cowered under what he called "The Mom Glare". "I didn't know you were bringing pets with you." 

"Hey!" he protested loudly, "I was just doing a little scientific research." 

"Well Professor, I've got an equation for you. Take one High Guard Ship. Subtract the _only_ engineer on board and add a 99% chance of an attack. What do you get?" Beka walked over to playfully hit him on the back of the head. But a golden hand caught her arm midway. 

"No hitting." Trance let a surprised Beka go. 

"Since when did you get a bodyguard?" She returned her gaze back to Harper, who managed to look anywhere but her. 

"Well, it's actually kinda a funny story..." 

"One we don't have time to explain now," Trance interrupted. "I want to get Harper to medical." Harper made a face at that. 

"What's wrong with Harper?" Beka was now in mother hen mode. 

"Remember Beka. Funny story. Ha ha ha." She looked on, puzzled as Trance grabbed Harper's arm and started hauling him towards Med Deck. 

"Get the rest of the crew together and have them meet us there. I really don't feel like explaining this four different times."

----------------------------

Beka looked up as Rommie, Dylan, and Tyr walked into medical. 

"What sort of horrible disease has the boy contracted this time?" Tyr asked, picking a nice corner to stand in. Harper stuck his tongue out at him. 

"It's not any disease. It's a bit more complicated than that..." 

"Harper's pregnant." Trance put away the scanner she had been using and looked up at the others. 

"He's been infested again?!" Dylan looked stunned. 

"See Trance. This is why you don't bluntly state things. You have to slide people into this stuff gently," Harper explained before turning back to Dylan. "No...Not larva." 

"Why do you people always think my species are associated with Magog?" Tranced mumbled, slightly pissed. (And yes, this pun was 100% intended.) 

"Well, how?" Tyr abandoned his corner. This might be interesting after all. 

"Would you like to take this, or can you actually say a sentence that contains more than two words?" Trance rolled her eyes at that. 

"The reason I borrowed the Maru was because I was ready to mate." 

"You were in heat?" The confused look had returned to Beka's face. 

"Essentially, yes. And I can't be around any other species during this time, or else the mating ritual will commence. Harper, unfortunately..." 

"Why do you always say unfortunately?" Harper asked, interrupting. "I'm not that bad in bed." 

"Harper," Trance continued, "snuck on board. The ritual took place. Harper carries the essence or soul of the child for the first four and a half months of the pregnancy. I deal with the physical aspects the last half. Then the child will be born." 

Trance finished, and the rest of the crew stood there just staring at her. She looked back at them. 

"What?" She glanced at Harper. "Did I do it wrong again?" 

"I don't think there was a right way to do it," he replied, forcing a grin. "So...any questions?" 

"Ummm...yeah." Beka raised her hand. "How the hell could you be so stupid?" 

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Harper held up his hands. "It wasn't my fault. It wasn't anyone's fault." 

"Oh, so you were completely oblivious throughout the entire ordeal?" The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to cut with a knife. 

"Uhhhhh, yeah." That took Beka aback. 

"Oh...ok." She looked over at Dylan, flustered. "You can take it from here." 

"My concerns are with Harper's health." He finally said. "Not to be offensive..." 

"But my immune system sucks, yeah I know." Harper sighed. "Trance told me that as long as I keep in good shape, eat right, and take these vitamin shots she's giving me, I should be fine." 

"And no sparky cola," the pixie added. 

"What?!" Harper looked horrified. 

"What about side effects?" Rommie interrupted the argument before it could get started. 

"Just nausea and weariness. Like I said, it's just the baby's soul in his body." 

"Working?" Trance looked at Harper again. His eyes were pleading with her. 

"He can work, if he's careful." He let out a relieved sigh. 

"And where are you planning on keeping the child?" Tyr finally decided to join the conversation. "Andromeda is a very big ship with very powerful weapons," Rommie smiled, pleased, "but that also makes it one of the most wanted and fired at ships in the known worlds." Her smiled disappeared. 

"I have to agree, this really is no place to raise a baby," Beka added. 

Harper was going to answer, but Trance stopped him. 

"I think we'll deal with the bigger questions as they come. The main information you need to know right now has been covered." She shooed them away. "You can visit when I'm finish with him." 

"This crew is…" Dylan searched for the right words. 

"Full of surprises?" Rommie finished for him 

"I wouldn't exactly say that." Tyr just shook his head as they walked out. Beka went over to Harper. 

"Hey Boss, I'm not dying or anything. It's fine." He grinned to reassure her. 

"Yeah it's just...well, my little boy has finally become a man. Too bad you had to go and get knocked up while you were at it." She winked. Harper stuck his tongue out. 

"There was no sexual intercourse involved." 

"Ooo...poor baby." He reached out to hit her, but Beka moved away. 

"You're just jealous that you didn't get me first." She rolled her eyes, and then turned away as Trance walked over. "I know! I'm going." 

As the door shut behind her, Beka could hear voices in the background. 

"So what's this about no Sparky Cola?"


	5. Chapter 5

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Harper woke up, looking around the room groggily. 

"I don't care what time it is, it's still too early," he sighed, closing his eyes again. Then snapping them open and grabbing the well placed bucket next to his bed. 

"Is it getting better?" Rommie's hologram appeared next to his bed. Despite the fact she couldn't smell in this form, Andromeda wrinkled her noise, a tendency among others she was picking up from her avatar. 

Harper set the bucket down, knowing a Maria would be there shortly to clean it up, and fell back on the bed. 

"Actually, yes it is." 

"I would think so after two weeks. Now up and moving. It's nearly noon." Harper groaned, and pulled a pillow over his head. Rommie sighed. 

"I know you need rest, but you also need exercise and work. Now up! Before I get my android self to get you up." 

"Alright...alright. Sheesh. You're like Beka; 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' You two need to get together and have a kid." Harper paused to fantasize that. 

"You are twisted." She shook her head and left. 

"You know it baby." Harper lifted himself off the bed and dragged himself to the shower. "Hey. It is better. I'm not crawling to the 'fresher anymore." 

----------- 

"Harper?" 

"The one and only," he announced, climbing down a ladder. Trance handed him a food-laden tray. 

"You're forgetting to eat again. I thought I told you to stop that." 

Harper grabbed the tray, and made a small face. How the hell could anyone eat this stuff? It looked like Trance had chopped up a few of her plants and then boiled them overnight. But Trance was giving him _that_ look, so he grudgingly started to eat. 

"How'd you know I haven't eaten yet?" 

"My species is physic." She smiled. 

"You had Rommie tell you." 

"You're not mad, are you?" Harper sighed. 

"Why should I be? Andromeda watches me constantly anyways. Both Dylan and Beka have her updating them on my condition at least every hour..." 

"Every hour and a half." The AI's voice echoed through the corridor. 

"Every hour and a half." Harper rolled his eyes. "And I've heard about Nietzschean's being protective, but that's when _their_ wives are pregnant. Tyr probably is hiding right behind that corner right now." 

"Am not." The sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard leaving the area. Trance tried to hide a smile. 

"Speaking of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Bad Assed, remember what he said a few weeks ago? About having the baby on Andromeda." 

"Ok?" 

"Well...are we? Don't get me wrong. I love Rommie to death. But I'm the engineer, and I know the damage we suffer in battles. And sometimes the situations are sticky. How are we going to bring up a child in all of that?" Harper was visibly worried. Trance looked unaffected. 

"Don't worry about it," was her simple reply. Harper's jaw almost fell open. 

"Don't worry about it?" He looked at her like she was insane. "We have a baby coming on the way, a vulnerable child for the Divine's sake, and you tell me not to..." Trance placed her finger on his mouth. 

"Don't. Worry. About. It. It's taken care of." She took her finger away. "You're cute when you get protective." 

"You think so?" He grinned. "Wait, backup. What do you mean it's all taken care of?" 

"This is one of those things you just have to trust me on." She started down the hallway. "Besides, what would we do? Go off to some planet and live together happily ever after?" 

"Well, yeah." That made Trance turn around. "I mean, you did choose me as your mate for a reason…right?" 

Trance's eyes went wide, and Harper's face turned a very bright red. 

"Harper, I honestly didn't mean to give you the wrong impression." She started to walk over to him, but he backed away a little, so she stopped. "It's just, when I'm in that condition, almost anything that's male...and you are carrying our child, so I have to make sure you're ok, but Harper..." For once, the pixie was left speechless, not knowing where to go. 

"But Harper you're just a really good friend," Harper finished for her. 

"Harper, I'm really sorry..." He held up his hand. 

"I got it Trance. Don't worry. Stupid mistake on my part. I'm fine." He grabbed the tray of food, and started up the ladder. "I've got some more stuff to work on, but I promise I'll eat while doing it." With that, he disappeared onto the next floor. 

Trance watched him go. She knew he had been lying about being fine. 

"Well, don't tire yourself out," she called out, one last attempt to make things normal again. But things hadn't truly been normal to start with. When nobody answered, she left. 

----------------- 

"Update on Harper's condition." Andromeda appeared in front of Dylan. 

"Just tell me of any change." 

"A bit of weariness. Trance stopped by and made sure he ate. Wonderful job on the sensors though." Dylan smiled. 

"So everything's fine?" Andromeda paused on that, not sure how to reply. Her sensors were already scanning the younger engineer. Everything was the same, except for the wet spots that shown clearly on his cheeks. 

"Yeah...everything's just fine."


	6. Chapter 6

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well.

--------------------

Dylan looked up from the signed charter and watched as Rommie added another planet to the filling board. 

"Well then," he turned to the newest members of the Commonwealth, "I'll take you to Harper so you can get started." 

The Ukam grinned widely, both of his rows of teeth showing. The species was an offshoot of their better-known brother species, the Perseids. They retained the same gray/blue skin and baldheads. But they had what one might call a "double chin". The common long chin of the Perseid race was split in two. And the Ukam were shorter, their tallest beings reaching barely 5 feet. 

There was a very common thing about the Ukam and Perseids. It was their love for knowledge. 

"We greatly appreciate the use of your vessel and crew in our studies. Mr. Rekeeb was kind enough to transfer the information from his and Mr. Hohne's," the group bowed they're heads for a moment, "experiments on the black hole. So we won't have to do those again." 

"For which my ship if very grateful." Rommie nodded appreciatively. 

"But we've heard you're engineer has done some interesting things these last few years," Soluk's eyes twinkled at the thought of learning. Soluk Manou was Third Chair on the Urkam's Council of Nineteen, a genius, good friend of Hohne's, and someone to be greatly respected. 

"Yes, he certainly has." Dylan smiled at Rommie's little inside joke. Two months had now passed since the mating, and Harper was doing better. He was eating regularly, and making sure not to overwork himself. The crewmembers still checked on him, but not as often. They had learned to respect the young man's space while keeping a healthy level of concern. 

"I'm especially interested to see what he's been doing with tesseracts. I've heard rumors about a machine used to cure a Magog infestation?" Soluk raised an eyebrow, and his three other associates made strange noises. After having the species on board for weeks of debates and talking, Andromeda had learned this usually meant the Ukam were satisfied or pleased. 

"Mr. Harper is full of surprises," Dylan replied as they entered the Machine Shop. Harper peeped from around his half finished X-1. 

"Hey Boss. Done already?" Dylan nodded. 

"They're all yours." 

"Gee...thanks." 

"Be nice," Rommie teased before she and Dylan left. 

"Be nice." Harper made his voice as high pitched, high as it would go, imitating Rommie. 

"Savor it now." The hologram appeared. "In 2 and a half months, you'll find out just how much fun it is to be on a pissed off warship." 

"What's happening in two and a half months?" Gertu, Soluk's apprentice, looked at them both curiously. The hologram disappeared. 

"Thanks for the help." Harper sighed. "Don't worry about it. Shall we get started?" 

-------- 

Harper was leaning against Andromeda's bulkhead along with the Urkam. All five were plugged in(all Urkam were issued data ports in their teen years). He was giving a tour of Rommie's virtual matrix. 

"And if you'll come over to this area..." Harper gave out a sudden yelp and found himself back in his body. 

"Oh damn!" He grabbed his tool belt, and found it empty. He had taken the last of his pills a few days ago and forgotten to restock. Pulling the jack out of his neck, he started running out of the Machine Shop. 

"Is everything alright Mr. Harper?" Soluk was right behind the younger man. 

"Nothing...just cramps. I have this...condition...I can't explain. Just continue, and I'll be right back!" Harper panted out as he hurried towards medical. 

Soluk watched him, concerned. But he decided to listen to directions, and exploring the internal workings of the High Guard ship was just too exciting to leave. Going back to his companions, the Urkam saw   
Chico had come out of VR as well and was busying himself at a counsel. 

"What happened?" He asked, barely looking up at Soluk. 

"I believe he's sick." 

"Well the medical records do show Mr. Harper as having a weakened immune system and therefore a long history of illnesses that are quite...intriguing." Chico tapped a few buttons. 

"Figures you would dig right into the med records." The medical expert gave a sly smile. 

"I did find something unusual though." Soluk came closer. "Look at this file. It's blocked by at least three firewalls, if not more. And, if it's not opened correctly, I to believe there are trips that would give one a very painful shock. I had the other two continue to work at it on the inside while I work on it out here." 

"So it's something we shouldn't open. I mean, whoever did this, wanted these records to remain private." Chico nodded at Soluk's warning. 

"Well, it's a bit late." Vedran letters appeared in the middle of the room. "I say we have a peek. I mean, the agreement did say that we were guaranteed breakthrough information." 

"And the AI would warn us." Chico looked a little sheepish. 

"Chico?" The Urkam shook his head. 

"We had to block her out to get to the record." Soluk sighed at that. 

"Well...we might as well look then." Chico smiled happily, both Urkam looked towards the open file. 

"Oh my!"


	7. Chapter 7

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Harper walked weakly back into the machine shop, Trance holding onto him. They hadn't spoken about that day over a month ago, just returned to the regular routine of protector and protected. But there was always that awkwardness that hung between them, and friendly words weren't exchange as often. 

They looked up to see four smiling Urkam. 

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you. No, I am not going with you to Jaoi, and you cannot study me here." Trance glared, daring any of them to try to convince her otherwise. 

"Yes, we understand your wishes." The Urkam had been trying to get the golden alien to go to their home world for "scientific observation" as they called it. "Our proposition is for Mr. Harper instead." 

"Proposition? I thought I was just giving you my technical information." Harper gave Trance a nervous look. 

"Oh yes. We looked through those files while you were gone. Quite interesting. I've made sure to send copies to our labs for further research." Soluk's smile was un-nerving. 

"How'd you get past my blocks? I had some of that stuff quantum encrypted." The Urkam giggled at Harper's statement. 

"You think quantum encryption would stop a genius? You are very amusing Mr. Harper. But while useful, your experiments with tesseracts and nova artillery are not what concern us." 

"Nova bombs? I thought those files weren't meant for public viewing," Trance said. 

"They aren't." Harper looked pissed, to say the least. The Urkam just smiled, not truly understanding why the two crewmembers were mad. 

"Mr. Harper," Soluk continued, undeterred by the young man's look, "We would be most pleased if you allowed us to examine you as you go through your last two and a half months of pregnancy." 

"What?" Harper did a double take. 

"No." Trance grabbed Harper and began to pull him out of the Machine Shop. "You've gotten your information, now you can leave the ship." 

"But Miss Gemini, this is a truly amazing discovery. And we have not collected all the information we seek." Chico ran to stop them. "You choose not to tell us about your species, but Mr. Harper is quite human. We could help to increase the population of sexual species on dying planets if we knew a way to allow both males and females to become pregnant. And the awards for such a discovery..." Greed was apparent in his eyes, along with the prospect of recognition. 

"How do you know so much about this? The only information on Harper's condition is a medical file that I..." Trance stopped short. 

"Ya know, the phrase 'Mind yer own beeswax' comes to mind. I've got another phrase that involves the letter F and the word off, but I'm in presence of supposedly polite company." Harper didn't like this feeling of vulnerability. These Urkam were smart enough to get into any file they wanted. That included Andromeda's records. They could replay scenes of him singing in the shower or even more...private things. 

"You don't seem to understand the importance of this..." 

"Oh I understand." Harper walked over to Chico, barely controlling his temper. "I understand that you have been getting into this ship's private records, records that you have no business of getting into. And I understand that you want to take me back to your little planet, and lock me in a cage with a freakin' exercise wheel so you can 'scientifically observe' me. What you should do is leave right now. 'Cause Junior's giving me mood swings, and you sure as hell don't wanna be around a pissed off, moody mudfoot." 

The Urkam had pulled out flexis and were making notes the entire time Harper spoke. The engineer nearly pulled out his hair upon seeing this, but felt Trance gently lay a hand on his shoulder to calm him. 

"I suggest we tell Dylan about this. He'll be able to handle this." Harper sighed, and nodded. She looked over at the Urkam. 

"You should go back to your ship. Andromeda," the hologram appeared, "monitor them so they don't cause any more trouble and inform Dylan of what's been transpiring." 

-------------- 

While Dylan dealt with the Urkam, Trance helped Harper as he began to sort with their mess. 

"Well, they replaced everything neatly at least. That'll make things easier for your daddy. As if things are ever easy for me..." Harper rolled his eyes. Trance smiled, now used to the fact that he often talked to their child. She found it odd, yet sweet. The males she knew didn't take much interest in the child until after it's birth. This is why the females were so protective. 

"Junior?" 

"Huh?" He looked up at her. 

"You said Junior's giving you mood swings. Why Junior?" 

"Ummm...I guess it just kinda slipped." He shrugged. "Why?" 

"Nothing." Harper opened his mouth, and then shut it on second thought. He decided not to push it. He knew Trance didn't say anything until Trance wanted to. 

------------ 

The Chico stood over Soluk. 

"This is wrong," he said, looking up at the medical expert. 

"They broke our contract. They said we had access to _any_ breakthrough information." Soluk shook his head. 

"I won't be a part of this. In fact, I forbid you or the others at any attempts. Do I make myself clear?" Chico glared at him, but nodded. "Good. Now pack up and tell the rest of our crew to ready both ships. We are leaving in a few hours." 

--------------- 

"What now?!" Harper grumbled as he got up and walked to the door of his quarters. Gertu was standing on the other side. The engineer counted slowly to ten before answering. "Can I help you?" 

"We are sincerely sorry for any incontinence that we have brought upon you or your crew. Would you like to join us in a parting celebration as a token of our sorrow for being the cause of so much trouble?" 

Harper studied the young Urkam carefully, not sure what to make of him and his invitation. Gertu had seemed trustworthy enough, but then again, Harper hadn't expected the other Urkam to break into secure files. And his speech seemed formal and very…rehearsed. 

Still...What Would Dylan Do...or at least want _him_ to do? 

"What about the rest of the crew?" 

"They're coming as well. I was asked to give your invitation personally since you seemed the most upset." 

"Alright," he sighed tiredly. Gertu looked like a puppy, wiggling with joy. He had expected to be rejected. His superiors would be very pleased with him. 

"Follow me!" 

----------- 

"Um...were are we going? Obs Deck is that way." Harper pointed in the opposite direction that they were heading. 

"The celebration is on our ship, _Palu Jaoi_." Harper stopped. 

"You didn't tell me it was on your ship." Gertu frowned. 

"Is there something wrong with this?" It all seemed too perfect. The ideal trap. After years of growing up in Boston, Harper had developed a sort of sixth sense. Now with the addition of caring for something other than just himself… 

"I'm going back to my quarters now. Just tell the others I said hi or something and that I couldn't make it." He turned to leave and found Chico blocking his path. A pistol was pointed at his face. 

"But we cannot celebrate without our main guest."


	8. Chapter 8

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Harper studied the gun Chico was pointing at his face. 

"You really thought you could trick a genius such as myself? That's been modified. The best it'll do is release a discharge of electricity, and by the look of it, not even a strong enough one to kill a human. So if you'll excuse me..." Harper went to step around the small being, but found the pistol shoved now in his gut. 

"It may not kill you, but do you want to take a chance that it won't hurt your child?" Chico's smile wasn't pleasant. 

"What do you want?" Harper had stopped short at Chico's statement. 

"You're going to come with us to our ship. We've blocked the internal sensors from here to the docking bay. You're not going to try to do anything tricky, or else we'll find out just what that energy mass can and can't handle," Chico explained. 

Hate was etched into the young man's features. How dare this _thing_ threaten his child? But Harper wasn't going to take any chance that might harm the baby. 

Chico, Harper, and Gertu made his way onto the _Palu Jaoi_. The engineer glanced in a doorway as they walked past crew quarters. Soluk was unconscious on one of the beds. Gertu went pale and ran towards the elder. 

"What did you do? You told me he ordered this!" Gertu turned around, but then fell unconscious onto bed next to his teacher, a stun dart sticking out of one arm. 

"Brown chin." Yenta, an associate of Chico, stepped from the room. 

"Keep the door shut, idiot!" Chico yelled at him. Yenta smiled. 

"Sorry. I just wanted to shoot the brat." 

Chico sighed. He led Harper to the last row of rooms, and then, pulling out a small injector. 

"Hey!" Harper jerked away his arm, rubbing it. 

"I've just implanted you with a microscopic electrical generator. If you get five feet outside the radius of this room, and it will discharge the same voltage of energy as in this pistol. I suggest you get comfortable. It's a good few hours to Jaoi." Harper's eyes widened. He had suspected, but now it was confirmed. 

"Oh hell no! I am not going to your planet to become a freakin' lab rat." He shoved past the Urkam, then stopped a few feet from the door. 

"I dare you to take another step," Chico taunted. "No? Get back in there." Harper stalked back into the room, the door closing behind him and then locking. 

He took out his anger on the small bed in the center of the room, punching it until he tired himself out and collapsed on its surface.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well.

------------------ 

Trance sat straight up. Something was wrong. She could feel it. 

She immediately started towards the hanger bay. That's where the dark aura had centered itself. She entered to find one ship instead of two. Yenta was heading towards her. 

"Miss Gemini, I was just coming to see you." She grabbed him, and held the small creature against a wall by his throat. 

"Where is he?" Trance took the gun he had hidden under his clothing and crushed it easily, throwing it to the side. 

"M'am, I have no..." he was cut off by his windpipe being squeezed. 

"Where is Harper?" Her tone left no room for argument. But he kept his mouth shut, to which Trance slapped him hard across the face. "You will answer me." He shook his head. 

"You wanted to know more about my species? Would you like a demonstration of a pissed off female?" She ran her hand over his midsection until she found it. Then she pressed. Yenta's eyes went wide. He would have screamed, but the pain was too intense to allow him even that relief. Trance held the touch for a few more seconds, and before he could pass out, she let go. 

"I will ask one more time, and then I'll put you into so much pain that you will beg for death. Where is Harper?" 

"Chico took him on the _Palu_. They're going back to Jaoi." Trance accepted this. 

"And why are you still here?" 

"I was supposed to lead you onto our other ship and bring you back with us. I swear I didn't want to. Chico forced me. He said he'd kill me..." Yenta stopped suddenly as his air supply was cut off. 

"You're lying. You went along willingly."  Trance smiled, toying with him. Just before he was out of oxygen, she let go. He fell to the floor, gasping for air. Trance bent down to his eye level. 

"You're going to do something for me. You will follow my exact instructions, or you will not live to see your children's children. That is, if you ever did find an Urkam with an IQ in the single digits to procreate with." Yenta was too frightened to take offense. He nodded. 

"Good boy." 

------------------- 

"Andromeda, I need Harper to check on that problem we've been having with the water temperature if he's not too busy or tired." Andromeda nodded at her Captains' request. 

"Dylan. I can't reach Harper." 

"Excuse me?" 

"I'm having sensor problems all over the ship. All internal sensors on decks 9, 6, and 14 are gone. So are the sensors leading to the crew quarters and all docking bays." Dylan frowned at that. 

"Maybe the Urkam did some damage when they were in your systems. Where was Harper last?" 

"In his quarters." 

"I'll get him." Dylan nodded as Tyr left Command. 

---------- 

"Boy? Boy if you're playing one of your games I swear..." Tyr threw aside some more dirty clothing. Harper was not in his quarters. He couldn't be working on the sensors...Andromeda would have had to contact him first and know where he'd have gone. Frowning, the Nietzschean went to Trance's quarters. They were locked as always. 

"Alien? Are you there?" He tried the chime, but there was no answer. Trance usually came before someone even touched the controls. So he resorted to banging on the door. 

"What is going on?" he growled. 

"Harper's not in his quarters." Andromeda smiled as the Nietzschean actually jumped at her voice. 

"I thought you were blind to this area." 

"The blocks are erasing themselves." That didn't provide comforting thoughts to either of them. 

"Which means they weren't a malfunction. So it had to be someone with the technology..." Tyr looked at the holo, knowing she had come to the same conclusion. Tyr started running to where the Urkam's ships were. 

"It's no use going that way. Both ships have left." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes. Spaceships are large, and I have good eyes." The Nietzschean glared at her. 

"I'm glad you can still find humor in a situation where not only are the lives of two of our crewmembers being threatened, but one of a helpless, unborn child as well." 

"I've already informed Dylan of the situation. Head towards command. Beka's on her way as well with my avatar." She crossed her arms. "And I do care about them. I just show it a different way." 

"And that would be?" he asked. 

"Tyr, I'm a big warship with bigger guns. You're a smart Nietzschean, so I'll let you figure it out."


	10. Chapter 10

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well.

------------------ 

"He's waking up." Harper felt groggy, and rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them. Then he sat strait up, panicking for a brief second before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be on the Andromeda. He had been kidnapped. And yet he had actually fallen asleep after all of that? 

This child must be draining me more than I thought, he mused. 

Harper looked around. It actually wasn't that bad. He had been expecting the old stereotype of a plain, bright room where everything was white. Instead, they had put him in a room that looked very similar to ordinary living quarters, only smaller and cleaner than most. There were no mirrors, but he knew cameras were hidden in various places all over the room. 

Three Urkam approached him and began running scanners and tools of various sorts over him. Harper tried moving away, but they're little hands pulled him back. 

"Will you at least tell me what you're doing if you have to poke and prod me?" 

"Chico used a sedative on you." The Urkam scoffed, obviously disapproving the med officer's method. "We're making sure it didn't do any harm." 

"Did it?" Harper's hand immediately went to his stomach. The Urkam shook her head. 

"Don't worry about a thing. You're both fine." The other two exited the room through the only door. Harper memorized the location before turning to the remaining Urkam. 

"And you are still here why?" 

"I am Fenty Usley, your caretaker. I will be bringing your meals, making sure you're kept in tiptop shape, and basically cater to your needs. Believe me, I know what it's like to be in your position." She patted her own stomach area. "I'm due in 6 months." 

"Oh. Congratulations." Harper was taken aback by the honesty and kindness of her words. What was this one trying to pull? 

"Thank you. Is there anything I can do for you now?" 

"Yeah. Help me get off this planet." Fenty frowned at that. 

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Chico Dusio has specifically told me to keep you in this room. Is there anything else?" She was trying real hard to please him, Harper could tell. 

"Well...can I have something to work on? A broken rifle, ECM generator...a freakin' clock for all I care. I'm just feeling antsy." She nodded in understanding. 

"I'll see what I can do. If there are any other problems, just yell out. They'll inform me." 

As soon as Fenty left, Harper got up and explored the room thoroughly. A 'fresher and a bedroom. The 'fresher contained a toilet, sink, and shower. The bedroom had a small cot in one corner, dresser in another filled with plain, gray clothing. Harper made a face before shutting the drawers and making his way over to wear the door was. No keypad on his side of the room, and the door slid shut straight into the opposite wall. 

Sighing, he made his way back over to the bed, seeing if there was anything he could do with the metal springs. 

--------------------- 

"Did you get her?" Chico walked over to Yenta. 

"You expected me not too?" Yenta swept his arm aside to reveal Trance being rolled down the ramp of the ship on a stretcher. She was unconscious. 

"Excellent work. So she apparently responds to sedatives. I'll have to note that." 

"Actually," Chico looked over at Trance's "still" form, "you just may be wrong." 

In a flash the pixie was up and had Chico in her grip. His eyes flitted to Yenta. 

"She was going to kill me." 

"And I will do the same thing to you if I am not led to Harper right away." Chico nodded. 

"Of course Miss Gemini." She set him down. "But I won't be showing you to Harper. I think security will be pleased to escort you." Trance spun around and saw Yenta holding up a small communicator. Urkam in gray uniforms with rifles started flooding into the hangar. 

Trance assessed the situation, looking at all possible outcomes in less than a nanosecond. 

"Bad move," she commented before running and jumping into a fray of guards. She avoided their fire, taking a few out with punches and kicks, and then grabbing their rifles to shoot at the others in her path. Trance made it to the exit of the hangar, turning back to fire one more shot. It hit Yenta square in the chest. Chico watched his friend get hit by the blast and go down. He then looked up to see Trance watching him. 

"You're next," she said quietly, knowing he understood, before running into the complex. 

The guards tried following her, but found the golden alien had disappeared. They did an extensive search before finding several vents had been broken into. 

"She's in the air ducts. We've monitored the patterns of the breaks in the vents and where she could be by the speed in which she moves. We're going to try and corner her in section 5." Chico was a very pale gray. He glared at the security officer. 

"I don't care about the plan, just find her before she kills me!" The officer nodded and left. 

Meanwhile, a certain golden alien was slipping around the corridors of the building, looking for her missing mate and child.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

"I told you. Bombing the planet would be useless not to mention stupid. We might hit the place they're keeping Harper." Tyr pounded on the panel. 

"Then what?" 

"We go down for a rescue operation," Dylan explained. "I'll stay up here and try to negotiate with the government, see if we can get them out the easy way. You and Rommie go down to the planet, find out where Harper and Trance are located, and try and smuggle them out." 

Tyr was boiling, but saw the reasoning behind Dylan's plan. He nodded stiffly before going heading towards his quarters to get ready. 

"Tyr?" The AI wrinkled her nose in irritation as he continued right on through her. "Shouldn't you be going to the weapons locker? That is where we keep our best weaponry." 

"That's what you may believe." 

----------- 

Trance closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on where exactly Harper was. But unintentionally, the Urkam had built this complex out of a combination of metals and minerals that rendered this "gift" of hers useless. She kept on going past various cells and doorways, ones that looked like all the others, taking quick peeks inside to find they didn't contain the person she wanted. 

Rounding a corner, she heard voices. Trance slipped out of sight, watching as two Urkam passed her by, oblivious to the alien presence. No...not oblivious, Trance observed. One of them, while not being able to see her, was looking around slightly nervous, almost as if she could feel the pixie. Trance knew that look. It was the same one she saw on Harper's face ever since the mating. This Urkam was a female for the time being. 

Urkam, like Perseids, are asexual. They have both the reproductive parts of males and females, and there are no features that distinguish them as either sex. But since it is considered inappropriate to call a being "it", all Urkam are called "he" until they are with child. During their two-year pregnancy they are considered females. 

A female Urkam gave Trance an advantage point. And not only that, but she knew this was the being she needed to find Harper. 

Before the female could register, she was in a janitor closet, her male companion unconscious and a golden alien standing over her. 

"Please don't hurt me!" Fenty cowered, scanning the area for possible exits. "Please. I am with child." 

"I am not going to hurt you." Trance held up empty hands and spoke in a soothing voice. "I just need your help." 

"My help?" Fenty was giving Trance the fish eye, and the pixie didn't blame her. Would she trust an abductor if she was in the other's position? 

"My friend was kidnapped and brought here for study. I want him back, and I know you can lead me to him. It's Seamus Harper, the only pregnant human male in this known universe. You can't have missed him," Trance quipped, trying to keep the conversation light so not to scare Fenty more. 

"Harper?" Fenty pretended to think it over. She had been given specific orders, and she was not about to disobey them. "I'm sorry. I don't know of any pregnant human males around here." 

Trance's hands balled into fists, but the situation required patience and good nature. She couldn't lose her temper to this Urkam. 

"But you have. I know you do. And I want to be taken to him now." She tried to keep her tone as even as possible. 

"I'm sorry miss, but I can't help you," Fenty replied just as coolly. In turn, Trance slammed her hand into the wall just beside the Urkam's head. Fenty winced and went into a fighting stance. She didn't have a chance, but she would try and defend herself and her child. Trance saw this, and a new idea came to her. The golden alien crouched in front of Fenty, the mask of calm back on her face. 

"Do you know how Harper came to be with child?" Trance continued when she didn't get an answer. "It was by me." Fenty looked surprised. 

"You?" 

"Yes. I am the mother of the little one he is carrying. You are a mother to be yourself, no?" Fenty nodded. "Tell me. How would you feel if your child was kidnapped?" 

"Like the universe had been ripped out from under me," the female Urkam answered honestly. Trance nodded. 

"That is how I feel right now. My mate and my child are somewhere here. I can't get them back. Do you know what that's like? To know that this new life you've created with another person may be only a few feet from your reach, and yet you can't get to it? This child, this beautiful creation of yours has been taken away from you, do you know what that feels like? Do you?" Trance's voice was stronger, but there was a trace of pleading in it. Fenty closed her eyes, not wanting to see the distraught pixie. But she couldn't block out that haunting voice. 

"You don't understand. My job as an employee here requires me to secrecy." 

"And my job as a mother requires me to protect my future generations. You don't have to help me, but just think about yourself in my position. Think about what it's like to have your child taken from you to be used as a lab rat." Fenty sat there, imagining what it would feel like. 

"Follow me."


	12. Chapter 12

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

"So which building are they in?" Tyr and Rommie crouched low, observing the three complexes that were in front of them. 

"The city's central systems told me that all classified research is done in these three buildings. By classified, that means that the public systems don't know what goes on in any of those places, let alone who is in which one." Rommie looked over the Nietzschean. "In short, I don't know. But I do know that security was alerted a few hours ago of a disturbance in the east wing." 

"Sounds like the work of one of ours all right," he replied. Tyr's brow furrowed in concern as he saw the avatar go very still. 

"What is it?" 

"Dylan's contacting me." A smile spread across her face. "I have good news." 

--------- 

Fenty looked very nervous as she approached the guards. Trance was behind her, handcuffs locked tightly around her wrists. 

"I've been asked transfer this specimen into this cell to look for breeding purposes." Fenty showed the guards her ID. One went to a consol on the side of the wall and started punching a few codes in. He came back, eyes narrowed. 

"You don't have clearance. There was no order given to transfer any species in this complex." 

"But my instructions were specific." Fenty's heart was hammering in her chest. 

"If you will stay here m'am, I can go and get this cleared up." The guard nodded to his companion and started to leave. But Trance grabbed him with her now free hands and threw him into the other guard. Both went down hard. 

"I'm very sorry." Fenty ran over to the keypad and began unlocking the door. 

"You tried. I didn't really expect it to work anyway," Trance said, grabbing the guns from the guards. 

"I've got it unlocked. I really need to leave now. If they catch me..." Trance put a reassuring hand on the Urkam's shoulder. 

"You've done a good job. It won't go unnoticed." Fenty nodded, then scampered off. Trance opened the door and dashed inside. Harper was sitting there, two Urkam were examining his reflex muscles. They all looked up as she entered the room, the Urkam confused, Harper relieved. Trance pointed a gun at the two scientists. 

"I suggest you leave." 

One Urkam backed away, the other stood in his place. Warning bells flashed in Trance's head, but before she could get to Harper, the Urkam pulled out a gun and held it to his head. 

"That one isn't modified. He'll die if the trigger is pulled." Trance turned around as a swarm of guards entered the room. "You may be a great warrior, but to just charge into the one room where you are most expected to go? One would need an IQ lower than a baby Nightsider's." 

"You talk big, Chico, for such a little creature," Harper sneered. The gun was pressed harder into his temple. 

"And you are the epitome of human size," Chico retorted before returning his attention to Trance. "Now drop the gun." 

"Actually, I suggest you drop your gun." Chico turned as Rommie, followed by Tyr entered the room. The guards trained their guns on them. 

"Oh. A crew reunion. How nice." Chico began to look nervous. Something was wrong, he knew it. He slowly moved towards the door. His man with the gun on Harper was looking nervous. 

"At ease." The guards lowered their weapons and saluted as Soluk entered the room. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Tyr reached over and easily picked up Chico by the collar. He held the smaller being a few feet off the ground. "I suggest you lower that weapon," the Nietzschean growled at the Urkam with his gun still trained on Harper. The alien immediately dropped it and raised his arms. 

"What's going on here? Guards get them! Let me go." He twisted in Tyr's grasp. 

"Captain Hunt contacted our government, telling them of your doings. They didn't quite believe him at first. But I was all too happy to add in my own experiences." Soluk smiled at the enraged Chico. "You may take him and his accomplice to the maximum security jail. You're trial will be in a three days time." 

Tyr reluctantly let Chico go, believing jail wasn't punishment enough for the Urkam, but complying with the species rules. Rommie and Trance had both gone over to Harper, checking him over and asking a thousand questions a minute. 

"Ladies, ladies. There's enough of the Harper to go around," he grinned. The three crewmembers rolled their eyes, but even Tyr smiled. Soluk approached the crew. 

"I know no amount of apologizing will make up for this but..." 

"It's good. The little guy and I are fine. I would just like to get out of here as soon as possible. I've had more people poke and prod at different areas of my body today than I've gotten to do on all my dates combined," Harper quipped as Trance helped him off the bed. 

"Sir," Soluk pulled out his com. "The traitor has escaped. Five of our best men are dead. Apparently he has more friends than we thought. We believe he's headed to his ship." 

Rommie and Tyr ran for the door, but Trance stopped them. 

"You both get Harper back to the Andromeda. I made a promise." They gave her the fish eye, but apparently trusted her judgment because they grabbed Harper and headed back towards the Maru, Soluk following closely behind. 

"And I always keep my promises," she said quietly, going off to find Chico.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Chico tapped the armrest of his seat impatiently as his ship took off. He wouldn't feel safe until they were many light years away from Jaoi. 

"Hello Chico." He spun around, turning a sickly gray as his eyes feel upon a very gold, very pissed off Trance. 

"Miss me?" 

----------------- 

The whine of the charging blaster could be heard as Trance walked through the doorway. Harper put away the gun, falling back into his bed with a relieved sigh. 

"You really need to warn people before charging into their rooms." 

"I wasn't charging," the pixie frowned and grabbed the gun off of Harper's bed, "and you shouldn't be sleeping with weapons." 

"It's the only thing that will sleep with me." Trance allowed herself to smile. "Besides, can you blame me for being paranoid? I just got out of a lab. You guys came in at a good time. Just basic physical testing was all they were doing for the time being. It was fine except for the whole...um...coughing thing." 

"The what?" 

"You don't want to know." He shuddered at the memory. "Uh Trance? What are you doing?" 

The golden alien had lifted up Harper's shirt and was running her hands over his stomach and chest area. 

"Just checking for damage. I know Andromeda's already had you in medical, but I like to double check," she replied, pulling his shirt back down. 

"Oh." He actually felt a little disappointed. Her hands had felt soft, and although they were cold, they had a pleasant feeling against his skin. "So...did you kill him?" 

"Kill who?" Trance's face conveyed confusion, but Harper knew she was playing with him. 

"You know who." 

"It depends on what your definition of 'kill' is. But he won't be bothering us anymore," she stated matter of factly. 

"You are truly an enigma." Harper then paused, wondering if he should ask. 

"Do you have a question for me?" 

"Well if I must..." He sat up on his elbow. "You gave me that weird look again back at Jaoi. The same one when I said Junior..." 

"Oh. That's because you said you and the little guy were fine." 

"And that deserves a special glance why?" 

"You've had the child for over two months. Haven't you realized by now that it's talking to you?" Trance was a little worried. Harper was human after all. Maybe he wouldn't have the full advantages of her species. 

"I haven't been hearing any little voices in my head, if that's what you mean." 

"On a subconscious level. And by now the baby should have determined what sex it's wanted to be. You are the closest to it..." Trance watched as Harper's eyes went wide, and he grabbed her hands in excitement. 

"A boy?! We're having a boy!" Trance suppressed a laugh, catching the happy engineer as he nearly fell off the bed. 

"Calm down." She laid him back on the bed. 

"Ok. Sorry. But a boy, wow. Not that a girl wouldn't be good as well, but you know. Think of all the things I'll have to teach him. How to work quantum theories, build his own avatar, the proper way to hit on females...Oh!" He sat back up. "We can start thinking of names!" 

"Later, later." But Trance was smiling as hard as Harper even as she spoke. He nodded, already easily worn out by the excitement. Harper snuggled under the blanket in his bed, closing his eyes. He opened them a few moments later, after not yet hearing the whoosh of the door, signaling Trance's exit. 

Looking up, he saw her curled up with a blanket and pillow on a nearby couch. 

"You do know you can leave now." Trance opened one eye. 

"Nope. If you thought I was overprotective at first, you should see me now." Harper sighed. 

"Still, that looks uncomfortable. The Harper is always ready to share his bed." He grinned, patting the spot next to him. Trance closed her eye in response, and went back to sleep. 

"Yeesh. She took my gun and won't even replace it. What a universe."


	14. Chapter 14

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

"Harper?"  Trance tapped the engineer on the shoulder.  He was jacked into the Andromeda, his mind deep within her systems.  Andromeda came up on a panel behind her.

"I can tell him you're here."

"Thanks Rommie."  Harper's eyes opened a few moments later, the cocky grin immediately spreading across his face.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You know I don't like it when you stay in there for more than two hours," the pixie was frowning.  Harper just sighed.

"Apparently you haven't noticed, but the Urkam weren't as smooth as they thought they were.  It's been an entire month and I'm still fighting residual problems left over from their little stunt with the internal sensors.  They placed some advanced blocking virus, but apparently were in too much of a hurry to set it in right.  The whole damn thing's been affecting the ship."

"I know, you told me.  It was my shower that had the ice cubes coming out of it after all."  Harper smiled at that memory.

"Thanks for reminding me that I haven't had my daily vision of you in that white towel of yours."  Trance's eyes went wide, much to his delight.

"Well my clothing was in the washer..but that's not the point."

"No the point is that if you continue to interrupt me, it's going to take another month to finally fix everything."  He held up a hand, knowing what was coming.  "Yeah yeah yeah, better to be safe than sorry, but what if this thing gets into the weapon controls?  Or hell, the slipstream core for that matter."

Trance bit her lip, but finally caved in.

"Ten more minutes."

"You won't regret it."  Harper winked and slid the jack back in. 

"Why do I doubt that?" Trance mumbled, sitting down nearby.

 Harper was surrounded by the bright blue and white lights, numbers, and racing _power_ that was the soul, as he liked to call it, of the _Andromeda Ascendant_

"Ten minutes Harper."  Harper would never admit it, but even after all this time, Andromeda still scared him to death when she made her persona visible in her own matrix.  Knowing you were deep inside a warship that could kill you before you're full conscious got back to your body was one thing.  _Seeing_ a virtual giant female AI was another entirely.

"Yeah yeah.  Warn me when time's up.  No shocking."  Andromeda smiled coyly before leaving.

Harper walked back to the section he had been working on.  It was the main area of the virus.  He had been working on it for a couple of weeks, and was finally getting to the core of it.

"Careful," he whispered to himself.  Visually, it looked like many of sting-like shapes of blue and gold light all tangled into a ball.  Shapes and symbols raced along some of them, jumping over bridges of sudden spurts of electrical power.  It was these bridges, discharges of the virus jumping from one area to the other that Harper had to worry about.  One wrong move and...

"Hey!"  The part of Harper's mind that was still attached to his body felt something in his physical self.  It was a slight movement in his abdominal area.  He grinned, now distracted.

Harper let out a yelp as his finger just brushed along a bridge.  He was abruptly slammed back into his body, able to look around to see flashing lights and Andromeda's hologram standing over him while Trance ran to check his pulse.  There were sirens as well.

I need to get to command, he thought just before exchanging this world of colorful sights and sounds for one of darkness.

-----------

Harper was screaming, falling into and endless void.  Suddenly it all stopped.  He wasn't falling anymore, but he couldn't say he was standing still.  Harper couldn't tell anything.  The space around him was empty of light and blackness was everywhere.  Up, down, right, left...they were meaningless to this place.

"Where am I?" he asked out loud.  Then he felt it.  A presence.  Like the blackness, it was surrounding him.  Only it wasn't cold like the dark.  Slowly the area around him lightened to a dull gray, not too bright, but not frightenly devoid of light.  It was comforting, warm even.  A gentle throbbing noise was in the background.  All this seemed familiar.

The presence was still there.  Even though he couldn't hear a thing, Harper could..."feel" it talking to him.  Nothing was physically spoken, the "words", if they could be called that, just came to him.  It was a being, a sentient, Harper concluded.  And it was asking if he was comfortable.

"Um...yeah, I am.  Thanks."  He looked around, trying to identify a shape of any kind, but there was none.  It was talking again, in that way he understood without truly understanding.  It was telling him about this place, about how this was its safe place, its home were it was always warm and soothing unlike Harper's home.

"Who are you?  And where am I?" Harper asked, not seeming to be able to get away of his habit of verbal speech.  The answer was in his mind in moments.

"Son?"


	15. Chapter 15

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well.

Oh, and a big thanks to Niko for her transcripts, which can be found here:  her http://members.aol.com/just4fic/transcripts.htm 

And if you didn't get it from that thanks, yes, major episode spoilers in here for Ouroboros, Bunker Hill, Harper 2.0, and Pearls.   
-------------- 

"What happened?" Beka ran into medical, Dylan following closely behind. Tyr was already there, leaning against a wall, watching with a steady gaze as Trance made Harper more comfortable. 

"Harper was trying to fix the virus in my systems, and he accidentally got shocked off the discharge of one. But he only brushed the very edge of it. While powerful, the intensity of the outer edge isn't enough to knock out a human...I don't get it." 

"My best guess," everyone turned to Trance as she spoke, "is that it scared him. Harper has been really jumpy since getting the baby, and since those Urkam came along with their modified weapons...For an engineer, he's been extra cautious around the conducts and electrical wires." 

"Right," Beka jumped in. "If he wasn't the only engineer onboard, and if he didn't love his job so much, he probably wouldn't be working in Andromeda's systems at all." Trance nodded. 

"What I think happened was Harper's been so cautious, that the minute he knew he was hurt, some part of his mind told him to protect his body. Add in the factors that he's paranoid enough being from earth, he's a genius, and now he has the baby, he was able to act on this impulse quicker than normal. Somehow it registered the safest place to go was away from reality. At least this one." 

"How do you get away from reality?" Dylan looked at Trance like she was insane. 

"Umm...well, have you ever dreamed? When dreaming, you believe the world created in your mind is now real. You've created your own reality. In other words, I believe Harper's hiding in his mind." Trance pointed out a nearby machine. "With the brain activity I'm picking up, it looks like he's gone past most of the deeper sleep stages. The problem is..." 

"How do we get him out?" Dylan finished for her, rubbing his face with his hands. 

----------- 

"I don't believe it. Where am I? How the..." Harper stopped himself. It was a child after all. "How the heck did I get here?" Slowly the gray turned into a colorful, happy background. Oh, so now his son was laughing at him. 

"So I'm in my body...in my mind? Of course! Trance told me you talk through the subconscious." He looked around him, the gentle throbbing still in the background. "That must be my heartbeat, so this must be what my inside feels like. You do have it good in there." 

A strand suddenly went past his face. Harper couldn't see what was on in it; it was going by too fast. But it suddenly stopped in front of him. 

_Harper was sitting on the floor of the Maru, data chips surrounding him. One after another, he stuck them into his dataport. The knowledge was endless!_

Harper pulled back, the memory still fresh. It was like he had traveled to that time. 

"Learn. You want to learn." He saw another strand fly past. This time he waited. His child was choosing these memories for a reason. The next one that stopped in front of him was a memory of Trance, the old one. The purple sparkly babe he had known for the longest time. 

_"Harper! Stop before you burn it!" she yelled. _

_"Hey! Trust in the Harper, the Harper is good." He turned the heat up just a tad bit more. _

_"But Harper..." _

_"Trance, I asked for your help, but after awhile, a baby has to walk on his own." _

_"BUT HARPER..." A timer sounded. _

_"Done!" Harper opened the oven to find a blackened apple pie. He looked at it, and sheepishly turned back to Trance. She had her hands on her hips. _

_"So, Trance, what was it you wanted to tell me?"_

Harper was still smiling at that one. He had given up the process of learning how to cook a few days later. Trance didn't seem too disappointed. 

"That's your mom. Only...she looks a little different now." 

_"Harper." He turned around as Beka walked towards him. Harper was so relieved she was safe. After what had happened with Hohne…Beka pulled him into a hug. "Thank god. I was worried sick." _

_"Harper," he looked up and saw **her**. Harper backed away, eyes wide, pointing his gun at it. It had her face, her voice, it even smelled like her, but it sure as hell couldn't be her. _

_"Trance?" _

_"It's me, it's just a new me," Trance explained in her usual, confusing fashion. _

_"What's..." Harper looked to Beka for help, but she was exhausted, and just lowered his gun for him. _

_"Temporal mechanics give me a headache." _

_"Tell me about-ah!" Harper grabbed his stomach as the little larva reminded him that they were still there. Beka held onto him until the pain passed. "I tell ya, one more like that and I'm gonna be the father of six baby magog." Beka looked very worried about that. Trance didn't seem fazed. She looked around as if trying to remember her way around the Andromeda, then finding it, and started to leave. _

_"Follow me." _

_"Follow you." He looked up as she stopped. "We don't even know you." Instead of the old Trance reaction, in which Harper expected her to either back down or try to convince him in her funny, enigmatic way to follow her, this newer version walked right up to him and got in his face. She was closer than he liked. _

_"I'm still Trance. And if you'd like to get out of here alive, I suggest you do as I say." With that she left, leaving Harper stunned wondering what had happened to his purple princess._

"Yeah. But she grows on you," he joked. The area around him had turned a soft yellow, and a very pleasant feeling was coursing through him. His son was speaking again. 

"Uh. That's what we call happiness, I guess. It's what happens when you're with the people you care about. They can make you feel happy." 

_The ball made a perfect arc and went through the hoop. Dylan did a victory dance while Tyr went to retrieve the ball... _

_Harper was laying between his two parents, both trying to keep him warm from the bitter cold air... _

_Beka crawled into his bunk, holding him and rocking him as he sobbed... _

_"The Divine has a plan for all of us Harper..." _

_"Almost done darlin'," he whispered, pulling the scanner away from Rommie's prone form... _

_"Get back." Seamus bit back a yelp as Brendan pulled him into the alley. A squadron of Nietzscheans passed by the huddled forms, Harper praying those ever seeing eyes... didn't spot them_

"Yeah, those would be my friends and family. You'll meet some of them when you're born." The child seemed very pleased with this. "But a few of those," he continued regretfully, "you won't be able to see." 

_His father was pushed to his knees. The head of the Nietzschean squadron came over and jerked his head back, exposing the human's bare neck. Harper could only stand there, frozen as they did the same to his mother. _

_The Uber paced back and forth, saying something insulting to his parents no doubt, but Harper wasn't concentrating on the words. He was looking at his parent's faces. His mother had tears in her eyes, but other than that, neither parent conveyed any emotion, no response to the filthy Ubers that were holding them. The leader finally had enough of hearing himself talk, and brought up his blades. Seamus wanted to run and save them, but they had told him to stay hidden. And he never disobeyed his parents. _

_So he stayed, and he watched as his father's throat was slit, and his mother's screams were cut short by her own death._

It was now bright red, with swirls of dark blue, areas of purple where the two colors met. Tears were streaming down Harper's cheeks as millions of emotions played through him. 

"We usually don't feel just one emotion at a time," he shakily explained to the confused baby. "Sometimes we can feel so many things that we really can't explain what's going on inside us." 

"Yes," Harper responded to the next question, "they did hurt me. Not all people are like Dylan and Beka and the others. The Nietzscheans and Magog being two of worst I've known. The Nietzscheans are the bullies of the universe. They pick on the weaker species because it makes them feel 'superior'." He laughed at that. "I've always wondered what was so superior about being able to kick around a defenseless child. The Magog...well, that's just their nature." 

_"...Now, imagine what it would be like to know that in the midst of that starvation, you could eat, feast, satiate your hunger. But only by killing the people that you love." Harper could've sworn Rev had tears in his eyes. "That is my pain. It is with me each day. My pain belongs to the Divine. It is like air. It is like water." _

_Harper clenched his teeth, and with new determination began the mantra. _

_"My pain belongs to the Divine. It is like air. It is like water." He could feel Rev watching him, giving him strength. "My pain belongs to the divine. It is like air. It is like water."_

Harper barely had time to register the memory before a new one started. 

_"What do you need child?" _

_Harper was standing in Tyr's doorway. He had been there for awhile, hoping that Tyr would develop telepathic powers and immediately know what was on his mind. But the big guy wasn't Trance. _

_"Would you have?" Tyr raised an eyebrow at that. _

_"Would I have what boy?" he asked, setting down his book. _

_"Kept your promise. Would you have killed me if Trance hadn't gotten the larva out?" _

_"I made a promise to you. Would you have wanted me to break that promise?" Harper knew the Nietzschean was trying to figure his motive out. _

_"No. I'm glad you would have." Harper turned to leave. _

_"Why do you ask?" Tyr called after him. Harper shrugged. _

_"It's just nice to know I can count on you for certain things. Like my death," he added, grinning. _

_Tyr actually chuckled before picking his book back up._

"Well see that's the funny thing," Harper was smiling. "People surprise you. Stereotyping is kinda this bad habit of mine. But Tyr and Rev are kinda exceptions to the rule, ya know? Tyr can still be a badass for sure. But at least he doesn't hit me for fun. I guess this is where I give you some good advice. Well, don't judge a book by its cover. But judging people by their weapons usually works," he quipped. 

This apparently was acceptable because the next memory was soon brought up. 

_"I'm sorry, Captain Hunt has stepped away from his desk. Please leave a message after the tone from the funny little guy. Beep!"_

Harper had to laugh. 

"Oh yeah. I'm supposedly the funny guy on board, although we all have our own little senses of humor." 

_Dylan was at his station, running a few checks on Andromeda's systems. Harper kept looking back at Trance and Beka, hoping against hope that they might change their minds about this. They shook their heads, motioning him to go forward. _

_"Dylan?" Grimacing, Harper tapped him on the shoulder. _

_"Yes Mr. Harp..." Dylan stopped upon seeing his engineer. Harper bit his lip, looking down, knowing the ever polite Dylan was trying his best to hold his laughter in. _

_"I'm terribly sorry. Yes, Miss Harper?" Make that back-stabbing-evil Dylan. Harper glared at the deck plates, thinking that he really needed to stop betting against Trance. _

_Just get through this, Harper thought to himself, and you can get out of this dress and makeup with Tyr being none the wiser. He can't say yes, could he? Harper winced as Rommie put on his choice of music, swing, reminding Harper of the last part of his dare. He mumbled something. _

_"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that," Beka said from her position in the doorway. Harper would kill her for this. _

_"Dylan," Harper looked up, "would you care for this dance?" _

_Dylan looked like he would faint, or die laughing. _

_"Well I can't turn down an offer from such a lovely lady, can I?" Dylan held out his hand, much to Harper's horror. Who had replaced the generous, nice Captain that usually kept these things from happening to him? _

_Harper glared at everyone as Dylan led him to the front of command and began to swing him around. It couldn't possibly get any worse, it just couldn't. _

_"Boy! Are you playing that racket again?" Tyr walked into Command. Stared. And then walked out again. _

_"As if I haven't suffered enough!" Harper cried out. At least Dylan had stopped dancing. He was laughing too hard. They all were, except Trance, who grabbed him and pulled him out of command. _

_"C'mon. I've got some cold cream to get that off of you." Harper followed her gratefully. _

_"You do look very pretty though." She winked, taking his hand playfully. He looked down at their entwined fingers, admiring her purple hue against his snow-white skin. _

_"You should've seen me in the blue dress."_

"As if I haven't had to live through that enough." Harper waited for the next memory, but instead found himself with yet another question to answer. 

"Well, I felt humiliation, embarrassed, angry...oh, that one at the end with Trance?" Harper smiled, remembering. "That's called love."


	16. Chapter 16

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Trance snuck quietly into Medical, being careful not to disturb Beka who was sleeping peacefully in a chair by Harper's side. 

They had tried everything over the past two days to "find" Harper, but for some reason the engineer wasn't responding to their efforts. They were all worried, but Trance was desperate. The time for transference was near, there was barely a week left. And if Harper was where Trance thought he was, they could be in very big trouble. 

She pulled up a chair next to Harper's bed and gently started running one hand through his hair, giving the illusion she was concerned for his health. She immediately felt the drowsiness overwhelm her, and fell back into the chair, one hand still on his head. To the ship and anyone else that might come in, she looked blissfully asleep, not unlike Beka. 

Trance felt herself falling, but was used to the sensation by now. Harper didn't know it, but this wasn't the first time she had ventured into the depths of his mind. She waited patiently for Harper's reality to surround her, praying that he wasn't there. 

"Trance? I don't remember this memory." Harper frowned as he looked her over. He felt the area around him light up with delight. 

"You're in the subconscious. Some memories that never come to your conscious get buried back here. But I'm not one of them. It's actually me." Trance looked around her, a little scared. Her species had cross-mated before; it wasn't unheard of. But none of the humans, preseids, whatever they might have been, had ever been able to communicate with the child on this level. It was intimate and consider sacred to her people. 

If Harper noticed the fact Trance was a bit off, he didn't show it. He just frowned at her. 

"How'd you get in my mind?" 

"It's something I can do. But Harper, you need to come out. You've been in here for two days and all the others are worried." 

Harper's jaw dropped. 

"Two days? It didn't..." 

"Feel like that?" Trance finished for him. "In here, a week seems like a day." 

"But Trance, have you met our baby?!" Trance smiled and nodded. 

"I can feel him too." Harper ran over and hugged her, much to the pixie's surprise. 

"Isn't it great?" The area surrounding the two turned a soft pinkish-gold, and something was going through Trance that she hardly ever felt. 

"Yeah," she pulled away suddenly. "It is." Harper frowned, but shrugged it off, getting back to the problem at hand. 

"So, um, how do I get out of here?" 

"You just will it. It's your mind Harper." Trance looked around. "I'll be here to help you out of course." 

A dark blue surrounded them, and Harper could feel sadness coming from the baby. 

"Hey Junior, don't worry about it. You're still in my body, remember?" The blue was replaced by yellow, making Harper grin. Trance stood back, observing it all with amazement, hoping it didn't leave any side effects. Harper turned back to her. 

"Ok...will it right?" Harper closed his eyes, Trance watched as his "body" began to break apart, only to come back together. He frowned, trying again. But it failed. 

"Ok." Trance was a little angry, but tried to keep her tone even. They wanted to make this hard. "The both of you have to let go now. It's not like you're leaving each other forever." 

"Ok. I'm good, honestly." He started to try again, but ended up being pulled back. 

"Listen son, if I don't go back, you can't be born, and then who am I gonna play catch with? Tyr?" He felt that laughing sensation before he was finally released. Harper sat up, finding himself on Med Deck. He looked over, finding Trance already up, working on something as if she had never been in his mind at all. Harper considered writing it off as a dream, but it had been too real, hadn't it? He looked over as he heard a mumble. Beka was still sleeping. Smiling, Harper poked her. She mumbled some curse words before looking up to see who had woken her. 

"Harper!" She wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug, which the young man gladly returned. "Where the hell were you?" 

"It's a long story."


	17. Chapter 17

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

"Trance!" Harper swung down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders. He was grinning. After the encounter with his child, Harper had been full of energy. The Andromeda looked like new with his constant tinkering and improvements. Trance could've sworn he had put that Perseid information in his head again, but instead of being jumpy with nightmares and rancid visions, he was in a constantly good mood. She had even checked Storage Locker 9 to make sure he hadn't broken in and gotten to his beloved Sparky. 

"What can I do for my favorite previously purple person?" 

"Tonight." 

"Huh?" He was still smiling. Trance bit her lip, knowing what she would say would soon erase that smile and hating to do it to him. 

"The transfer is going to take place tonight." Just as she had predicted, Harper's obnoxious, bouncy attitude disappeared as if he had been shot. 

"Oh. You mean..." He trailed off, his hand immediately going to his abdominal area. Trance placed her hand over his. 

"I know this is hard for you. Dylan said he'd let you take the rest of the day off if you wish." 

"Uh, thanks." Harper backed up and then sprinted away from Trance, feeling like she could take their child from him at any moment. 

He ended up in one of the older crew quarters in a section of the ship where hardly anyone came, whether it was out of respect for the dead crew that used to run the ship, or just because there wasn't much need to go there. The room was torn to shreds, various struts and wires pulled from parts of it to rebuild the more used parts of the ship. 

The bed was still whole though, and Harper crawled onto the soft mattress, lying down and stretching out. He stayed that way for one hour, twenty minutes, and 19 seconds calculated Andromeda, who was watching him through her sensors. Although she knew he wanted privacy, she wouldn't risk losing her engineer and her newest crewmember again. 

"Well, I doubt very much I'm going to get into that whole subconscious thing again, so I guess talking's the next best thing. You can hear me, after all." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I just kinda wish I could hear you again." 

"So what do we talk about?" Harper laughed at himself. "I mean, I've never had trouble before, but now that it's our last day together like this. I mean, I know you're not going away. 

This has been one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for your old man. I was really freaked out at first." Harper thought back on the first day Trance had told him he was pregnant. It seemed more like four years than over four months. 

"Yeah, I was really scared. I mean, you try being pregnant." Harper's eyes went wide. "Oh crap. You probably will be if I want grandchildren. But you most likely won't go about it like I did, considering you're remembering this stuff right along with me. And I'll be there to help you out." 

"See, you'll eventually find out what I did. That eventually, it's a great thing sharing your body with this creation of yours and someone else's." He blinked back the tears that were in his eyes. Harper swallowed a few times, laughing nervously at himself. 

"Look, you've gotten your dad all choked up and everything. I guess I shouldn't be that nervous and all, but the truth is kid, I'm really scared. You see, while you are my child, you're also Trance's child to. Frankly, I don't know what the hell she is, but the last time I let her go, and it wasn't even a day, she came back changed. My beautiful purple princess..." He swallowed again. 

"Trance and I were best friends. And she's always told me that she's still the same person." Harper shook his head. "But it's so hard to believe. She just grew up. She grew up awfully fast, ya know? When people mature, they just don't turn from one thing into another in a few hours. It takes months, hell years for people to go from this sweet little girl to this fighting, warrior woman." 

"How am I supposed to know that exact same thing won't happen the minute I let you go?" Harper had curled up, his knees pulled up to chest and his arms wrapped around them as if trying in vain to protect what was his. "How am I supposed to know if you'll come back as my child or as hers? She obviously doesn't want us as a couple, so what are we going to do about you? You won't be entirely human, I know, but you're still mine, and to hell with the universe if I'm going to lose you the same way I lost her." 

"We only have a few more hours left," he whispered to himself and the child. "We need to stick together, you have to promise me that even if we're not longer in the same body, you have to promise you won't leave me in the end. Deal?" 

Harper didn't feel anything this time around. 


	18. Chapter 18

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Trance looked into the room, finding Harper still curled up whispering something, his back facing her. She walked up quietly, putting her hand on his back, causing the engineer to jump. He grabbed his chest when he saw it was she. 

"Don't do that. Nearly gave me a heart attack." Harper looked down, toying with the design on the bed. "It's time, isn't it?" 

"Yes," Trance replied casually, trying to pretend she hadn't seen the wet marks that graced his young face. Harper turned away from her, wiping his face on his shirt. He looked back over to her, observing her new choice of clothing. Trance was no longer wearing the revealing outfit that seemed to be the only piece of clothing she owned. Instead, the golden alien was dressed in silk red pajamas. 

"Did I need to dress up?" he wondered out loud. Trance shook her head and pulled him up on the bed. 

"Take off your shirt." Harper raised his eyebrow at that. 

"Uh, Trance..." 

"It's all part of the ritual," she assured him. Harper complied, a little hesitant. Despite he remarks of always wanting to get a woman into bed, he was extremely nervous when naked. Clothing was a shield to him; one from the hot, the cold, and the harsh reality he sometimes had to live in. Without it, even just his shirt, he felt all the more vulnerable. Vulnerability was, as Tyr would say, not a survival trait. 

"Now lie down on your back and stay still." 

"If I had a throne for every time I heard that," he said, following her instructions, "I'd have, well, a throne." Trance smiled at his attempt to be brave through this. 

"Now, um, don't be freaked out. This is all part of the ritual, remember." Her warning only served to scare Harper even more. He jumped up and backed away as she began to unbutton the front of her top. 

"Trance, I know I said I wanted to be more than just friends, but we're moving kinda fast here." Trance sighed and pulled him back down on the bed. 

"Honestly, for someone who whistles at anything that had breasts, you're very sensitive about a woman's body." She peeled back part of the shirt so that it revealed her pale stomach, but left her top area covered. "Now lie still and stop acting like I'm going to jump you." 

"Will you if I ask nicely?" Harper could be very confusing, thought Trance. When he thought she was serious, he got all nervous. But when they weren't serious, he was able to easily joke about such things. 

Mumbling about human emotions, she slid onto the bed, positioning herself directly on top of him so that their bare stomachs where pressed together and that their foreheads met. 

"It usually helps when you relax." Harper had gone as stiff as a metal strut the minute Trance had placed herself on him. 

"You do realize what the others would think if they happened to walk in." 

"They won't disturb us," she said. 

Harper realized that if he would move his chin a centimeter up, his and Trance's lips would meet. In order to keep his mind of this, he concentrated on her eyes instead. Looking into them, he felt himself getting very tired. 

"Trance?" 

"Hm?" She sounded sleepy. 

"You have very beautiful eyes. It's almost like I can see the stars in them..." 

"Go to sleep Harper," he heard her whisper. 

------------- 

Harper opened his eyes and looked around, an expression of pure joy coming over his face. His child answered back with an equal amount of excitement. 

"I'm back," he said in awe. 

"For a short while." Harper's gazed traveled towards the sound of the voice and fell upon Trance. 

"It is me," she smiled, knowing what he saw. 

Trance's body was constantly shifting. One moment the golden warrior from his reality stood poised, the next second she was replaced by the smiling, waving purple girl from his past. He watched her change, fascinated as her skin was covered in long, rich fur and changed to a dark red, her pointed tail dividing into 5 separate fox-like ones. The fur grew shorter and became a sandy-brown, the foxy features melting into feline ferocity as a cat's tail whipped about playfully. 

Harper thought Trance was going to be sick as she turned green. The fur melted like wax and then hardened into scales. Her tail and legs melted together into a long tail and her hair grew down like seaweed. Fins sprouted from her arms as her elfish ears reappeared. 

And so it went on, Trance changing many different colors and shapes. And sizes. Harper noticed she would shrink at times and then suddenly sprout up, the curvy, mature body of a young woman forming into the long, awkward limbs of a teenager, then to a child's round, chubby form. 

They were the stages of her development. 

"It's happening to you too, although you don't realize it from your point of view," the words echoed from purple Trance's playful voice into that of a dark blue teenage Trance. 

"How come I didn't see it before?" Harper stood there, amazed. Most people wouldn't have an experience like this in five lifetimes. 

"Because we were in your reality. Your mind formed me as it knew me. But now you're in your subconscious, and I'm in mine." Harper realized she was right. There was a distinct border between the two of them, his conscious felt human; hers had a mystical, alien aura about it. He could see timelines flowing behind her. But instead of the colorful blurs his made, hers were blank white, hidden behind mental shields so that he the only glimpse of Trance's life he had was her ever-changing form. 

Harper noticed, as well, that her area was devoid of a child's spirit. 

Trance opened her mouth and began a beautiful hymn, one the worshippers used to sing when they prayed to her mother so long ago. 

There weren't words to describe what he felt as the child stopped surrounding him, but heartbreaking came foremost in Harper's mind. He bit his lip, trying to be strong as he watched the energy that had filled his entire body, soul, and mind shrink into a small ball of bluish-white light. It seemed so small, so fragile for what it contained. 

Trance called out and the light began to move towards her, then stopped and shuddered. Trance looked up at Harper, her eyes sad and pleading. 

"You're holding him back. Harper, you have to let go." 

The soul began moving towards her again, but couldn't seem to pass the barrier that separated its mother's consciousness from its father's. 

"Harper." Trance's voice was soft, yet forceful as a hundred different parts of her tried to convince one unyielding human. "You have to let go. Otherwise he'll die." 

"I can't," Harper whispered, his voice cracking. The soft light moved over towards him, gently bathing its father in its warm glow. Harper knew his child was telling him it was going to be all right. He smiled at the young spirit's innocence. 

"Just remember not to forget me. And take care of your mother. You're the man of the house now." The child whispered its thanks and then floated over to Trance. She reached up and touched it; upon doing so, the spirit spread throughout her, now joining its mother. Trance smiled, a look of pure bliss coming over her faces. She then turned back to Harper. 

"It's done." Harper began to panic as he felt her start to disconnect their minds. 

"I love you," he shouted one last time to his child. 

------------ 

Harper woke up the exact same time Trance did. Upon seeing her face pressed directly into his, he screamed on threw her off him. 

"Harper!" She caught herself before hitting the ground hard. He immediately realized his mistake and helped her back onto the bed, holding the other as if she where a nova bomb. 

"I am so sorry Trance. Are you both ok?" Trance smiled and nodded. 

"I've never been better. Now I see why you were so content all those months. This child is..." She couldn't find the right words, but knew he understood. Harper smiled, but his eyes didn't reflect it. 

"Let me help you to your quarters." He slid his hands under her arms, pulling her up. But Trance stayed on the bed. 

"If you repress your feelings Harper, it is not good for yourself. If it's not good for you, my _best_ friend, it's not good for me. And therefore, it affects the child as well." Trance opened her arms. Harper slid gratefully into them, burying his face in her shoulder as he sobbed out his loneliness.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: And You Thought Larva Were Bad...  
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace  
Rating: PG-13  
Synopsis: I finally wrote a Harper/Trance fiction, but with my mind...um...be prepared for the worst.  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.  
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers. UTN and AAF spoilers as well. 

----------- 

Harper was trembling as Rommie approached him. He noticed she was smiling, and he knew that he was grinning back. She didn't even get a chance to set the can down. He took it straight from her and drank it all in one gulp. Rommie backed up, surprised at how fast the engineer had moved. 

"Oh man." Harper leaned back, "I thought I'd die if I had to go another day without a Sparky." 

The rest of the crew laughed, even Tyr. They were having a party on Obs Deck to celebrate the transference. It had been Trance's idea, but the reason she had actually suggested it was to help Harper out of his depression. 

And it was working. Although he missed being connected to the child, there was more to be happy about than he had considered. Like the fact he no longer had to worry so much about himself. He could drink all the Sparky he wanted, stay up as late as he needed to, and work on the Andromeda for days straight. 

Unfortunately, Harper highly doubted he'd be able to do most of it, considering he would be watching Trance like she was the last creature with feminine features in the known universe. He finally understood her over protectiveness all those months. He thought he was going to faint when she accidentally bumped into a table corner earlier. 

Harper was watching the others dance to some choice music, politely refusing Rommie's offer to dance with him, once again shocking the avatar. There were just some things he still had trouble growing out of, being overprotective of himself namely one. But that couldn't separate him from his precious. He grabbed yet another Sparky. 

"How are you doing?" Trance sat down next to him. 

"Better. I'm realizing how much I forgot all of you." Trance looked at him, puzzlement written over her face. 

"I don't understand." 

"I grew up on earth Trance. When bad things happened to you there, nobody gives a damn. It's every man for himself." Harper shrugged. "I was once in an alleyway, beaten to a bloody pulp by some Ubers who thought they could prove their superiority by beating on a twelve-year-old. Five people passed me that night, and not one of them helped me. I would've died if Brendan wouldn't have found me." 

Trance placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harper looked at it, smiling. 

"But I've noticed up here, I can't get the common cold without at least three concerned friends hovering over me like I'm on my death bed. It's hard to keep feeling lonely when you've got six crewmembers that won't give you peace and quiet for more than five seconds." 

"But it's not impossible," Trance said, reading Harper's mind. He sighed. 

"No, it's not." She pulled him into a hug, placing his hand over her stomach. 

"He's still there." 

"The problem is," Harper moved his hand to his abdomen, "I'd rather he was back here." 

"Well that's life Harper. People grow, they change, and sometimes you stay close, and other times you drift apart." 

"Are we still talking about the child?" 

"You tell me." She gave him one of those looks, the kind that made him feel like he was under observation. 

"So you're saying you aren't going to give me all the answers?" 

"Is it ever that simple?" 

"No, no it's not." Harper leaned back, his features becoming much older than he was as it looked like the weight of the universe had been placed on his shoulders. "I guess it's one of those things I have to work out myself, like with the infestation and the movement on earth. But we both know how well those both went. Complete failures." 

"Well, you're not dead from the Magog, for which I am grateful because I would have lost one best friend and one child." Trance nudged him playfully. "And Rommie told me that for a moment, all those people on earth were given some hope." 

"Which was crushed in ten seconds flat," he reminded her. 

"In my experience, even a second of hope is better than living without it." 

"So says you." Harper looked up as someone approached them. 

"Want to dance?" Beka held out her hand to him. "I won't make you wear a dress this time." 

Harper stuck out his tongue. 

"I dunno how the wife would take it." Trance rolled her eyes. 

"This is about the only time Dylan's going to let you listen to your music for awhile. Enjoy." With that, she pushed Harper towards Beka, who caught him and swung him out onto the dance floor. 

Harper showed Beka the proper way to swing, and in turn, she taught him how to slow dance. 

"You're stepping on my toes again!" 

"Sorry!" Harper tried again, and eventually got it right. 

"See, I told you not to concentrate too much." 

"Yes Mistress of the Dance." Beka hit him upside the head. 

"I can do that now, you know." 

"Ouch." Harper rubbed the side of his head, pretending he was in excruciating pain. 

"You big baby." She looked down at him, concern in her eyes. "You going to be ok?" 

"You didn't hit me that hard." Beka hit him again. 

"Not that." She looked over to Trance, making sure she wasn't in hearing distance. "I meant, you know...." 

"I'll be fine. You know me." Harper plastered his cheesy grin on, the one that had protected him so many times before. 

"Yeah, I do know you. So are you going to be ok?" 

Beka's concern made Harper think back to his conversation with Trance before, about how it hard it was to be lonely with six friends always around to give support. He glanced over at Trance, noticing really for the first time how her skin was glowing, happiness radiating off of her. How could he wish to take that away from her? 

"Don't worry." His smile was genuine this time. "I'm going to be fine."


End file.
